Burr Odell – Believed to be the last living spectator of the inaugural contest against Dartmouth, Odell was 6 years old when he accompanied his father to the new stadium. It was the first of 330 Washington games – including six Rose Bowls – Odell would witness in person. A longtime Boeing employee and former blimp pilot, Odell, a 1937 UW graduate, died last December. He was 96.
Herman Brix – The Tacoma native won first place in the shot put during the 1928 Pacific Coast Relays track meet at Husky Stadium. Brix, who also played tackle for the 1926 Rose Bowl team, went on to earn a silver medal at the 1928 Olympics and, in his next career, appeared in several movies. The actor who changed his name to Bruce Bennett died, at the age of 100, in 2007.
Warren G. Harding – The 29th U.S. president delivered his final speech at Husky Stadium on July 27, 1923, six days before dying of heart failure in San Francisco. Elected in 1920, Harding came to the West Coast on a “Voyage of Understanding” trip arranged to promote the viability of statehood for Alaska. Harding’s speech, written by future president Herbert Hoover, talked of Alaska’s “magnificent wilderness” and “measureless oil resources.”
Charles Lindbergh – Four months after piloting the “Spirit of St. Louis” across the Atlantic Ocean, the aviator flew the same plane over Husky Stadium in 1927. After landing at the Sand Point Naval Station, Lindbergh returned to the football field and spoke to a crowd estimated at 25,000.
Don Heinrich – The ex-Huskies quarterback, selected by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1952 NFL draft, came back to Seattle for a 1955 exhibition against San Francisco – the first pro game at Husky Stadium. (Hugh McIhenny, Heinrich’s college teammate, was on the 49ers sideline that day, but didn’t play).
Cory Donworth – At 34, the labor relations consultant was appointed chair of the Metro Council in 1958. Paid $15-an-hour, Donworth supervised the development of the regional sewage system that transformed Union Bay (then known as “Garbage Bay”) from a toxic wasteland into a Seattle civic treasure enjoyed by fans who commute to Husky Stadium on boats. (Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium is the only other college-football venue accessible by boat.) Before voters approved creation of the Metro Council, 14 tons of inadequately treated sewage was dumped into Lake Washington every day.
Wally Sharp – The construction supervisor for the $12.9-million project that was to give Husky Stadium an upper deck on the north side, Sharp alerted his 40-man crew to abandon the site after a buckle was found in a tube supporting the overhanging roof. The work crew was out of harm’s way when the roof collapsed on the morning of Feb. 25, 1987. The only casualty was thought to be a stray cat who’d come to trust some of the ironworkers. As they examined the rubble of wrought by 250 tons of fallen steel, the cat was found to be OK.
Carl Lewis – The track-and-field legend won a 1990 Goodwill Games gold medal in the long jump at Husky Stadium, and took a silver medal (behind Leroy Burrell) in the 100-meter dash.
Todd Marinovich – Nobody gave a more concise compliment to a Don James team than this star-crossed USC quarterback did on Sept. 22, 1990. “I just saw purple,” Marinovich said after he was sacked three times in Washington’s 31-0 pummeling of the Trojans. “No numbers. Just purple.”
